FAQ

My accountant already deals with our capital allowances. Isn’t this something they should have done already?

Most accountants do provide capital allowances advice and will claim capital allowances on qualifying capital purchases. However, to claim capital allowances on fixtures imbedded in a building you require a specialist in tax and surveying.

My accountants are excellent and assure me they have already claimed everything we can?

Your accountant will claim on everyday purchases such as curtains, carpets, fire extinguishers and radiator covers but unless a specialist surveyor has analysed the property you may be missing potentially large capital allowance claims. If a survey for capital allowances has never been undertaken it is highly unlikely that all allowances have been claimed.

The claims we prepare require the skills of both tax and surveying professionals, they are outside the remit of an accountant.

Generally property owners who have claimed capital allowances for fixtures would have received some cash from HMRC and will have engaged a specialist firm to prepare the claim.

I bought my property 10 years ago. Can I still claim?

Yes. It’s still possible to claim capital allowances in a later years’ tax return, as long as you still own the building.

What if I sold it in the last 2 years?

You may still be in time to make a claim contact us

Does the claim affect my capital gains tax position when I sell the property?

No, the capital gains base cost remains the same even if capital allowances have been claimed.

What records do we need?

Any legal documentation in the relation to the sale (purchase contract, CPSE, completion statement) is requested but is not essential.

We generally require some information from your accountant, for example a copy of a tax return.

Is the process complicated, I’m so busy I don’t have the time for it now?

The process is very simple and requires little input from you. We will work with your accountants or advisers to ensure that this is done quickly and efficiently and with the minimum of disruption to you or your business.

Once we have established you are entitled to claim, we will undertake the site survey and then complete the claim at our offices. All we would need is for you or somebody with good knowledge of the property to be in attendance when we carry out the survey (1 to 2 hours).

What if HM Revenue & Customs don’t allow the claim, will I end up with penalties?

Where a property owner meets the criteria of the legislation, they are entitled to claim the tax relief.

HM Revenue & Customs are used to dealing with these claims. In the unlikely event of any queries being raised by HMRC, it is part of our service to resolve them.

We don’t proceed with claims that do not meet the requirements of the relevant tax legislation.

The claim report is submitted to HMRC with your tax return. HMRC have 12 months to enquire into the claim should they not accept it. As the report fully discloses the entitlement to the tax relief and the methodology taken, enquires by HMRC are rare.

The disclosure in the report means the risk of penalties or a discovery assessment are minor.

It sounds too good to be true. There must be some hidden costs?

We don’t charge any extra costs. If a claim is not successful there will not be a fee.

Not all property owners are entitled to the allowances. We also have a minimum estimated claim value of £30,000 before we would take a client on.

This is not a tax avoidance scheme. We have agreed claims with HMRC with 100% success rate to date.

Commercial Property Acquisitions Claims

If you own a commercial property and can say yes to the following questions, you could be due a tax rebate from HMRC